Trusting Him with Her Life
by LittleMissJiminy
Summary: As team Natsu continues to grow into a strong team, tension starts to form when Erza accuses Natsu of not being able to put his other guild mates ahead of his best friend Lucy, in a time of need. All the while a new enemy comes into the picture, who uses the tension to cause a riff between them. Will Natsu get Erza's trust back with the help of some new Fairy Tail members? Natza :)
1. Chapter 1

There are many members of Fairy Tail that Lucy would call Wild Cards. Heck, it just might be easier for her to point out who were the ones who weren't, such as herself, Wendy and, Levy. But the biggest wild cards in all of Fairy Tail, at this moment, were none other than two of her own team members, Natsu Dragneel and Erza Scarlet.

It all started when team Natsu was on a mission where they had to capture a certain thief, who stole a valuable item from the magic council. It was no surprise to Lucy that the thief was associated with other mages and team Natsu had to go head to head in battle against them. Unfortunately, their opponents were a lot stronger than they had anticipated. They were outnumbered and they were wasting a lot of magic energy quickly. Grey was then injured in battle and went down quickly, then Erza had to fall back and protect him, using more of her magic energy than she has anticipated, cutting down the number of mages into more than half and continuing to protect Grey. Lucy and Natsu on the other hand were fighting along each other's sides, like the usual power duo they are.

"Natsu, Lucy can handle herself right now, help us out!" Erza said as she whole heartedly continued to try to fend the mages off with a single sword protecting Grey.

Too busy with his fight and too fired up, Natsu ignored the S-class wizard. Due to Erza's outburst Lucy got distracted and immediatly was thrown to the ground by a random opponent.

"Lucy! You ok?" Natsu said as he rushed over to her side.

Slightly bruised, but she was alright. He gives her a confident smile and takes her hand.

"Let's go finish this!" he said and with a new found motivation Lucy nods and gets up from the ground and helps Natsu defeat the rest of the mages and the original thief tied up by her whip. After they defeated the bad guys, Lucy goes over to Grey and Erza to see if they were alright. It seemed like Erza was able to finish off the mages that were attacking them, but just barely. Magic energy running real low and as for Grey was quite angry for over doing it so quickly. The journey back to the guild was tensed filled silence and neither Lucy nor Natsu really could tell why. It wasn't until they actually made it back to the guild when both Lucy and Natsu announced that they were going to head home.

"Hold it there Natsu," Erza said sternly and loudly, causing both of them to freeze in place, "You cannot always be there for Lucy, Natsu. I understand that she is the member closest to you, but you must know that there are other members of you team who could need your help. Grey got hurt, and I had to fight for the both of us. I even asked you for help and you ignored me, but the second Lucy got hit you were instantly by her side. You have to once in a while put either Grey or Wendy, when she is with us, or even me ahead of Lucy."

"What? I don't put Lucy before you guys!" Natsu said boldly.

Grey opened his mouth the counter his statement, but Erza holds her hand back.

"Yes you do Natsu. There are various amounts of examples that I or Grey or anyone else from Fairytail could use to prove my statement. I told you that Lucy was able to handle herself and yet you ignored my request to help us."

"You didn't need help! You were just fine handling them by yourself!"

This caused Erza to get irritated with the fire dragon slayer.

"I was rapidly losing magic energy Natsu! Trust me when I say that if I felt like I could take care of the task at hand by myself then I would have not asked for your assistance!" Natsu did not like her tone with him and he was also starting to get irritated.

"Well maybe, if you were so mean and scary all the time it could be more of an instinct to help you!"

Erza paused for a second at his rebuttle, then lets out a sigh.

"Natsu, I thought that after everything we've been through as a team we finally were able to trust in one other, but with the way you are acting, I am starting to believe that is not the case. No matter what happens, you are always going to pick Lucy over any of us."

With that final statement, Erza walked towards the bar and ordered herself a strawberry cheesecake. The discussion was over and neither Erza nor Natsu wanted to face each other.


	2. Chapter 2

It has been a week or so since their heated argument and Erza was nowhere to be found. At first they all thought that Erza was just brooding, like Natsu was, but after the fifth day many were starting to question her absence. Lucy, herself, felt very bad about what had happened between her two friends and wanted them to reconcile. She knew that Natsu didn't mean what he said to Erza and she knew how much Natsu cares about his team. He would do anything for his friends, especially Erza. On her way to Fairy Hills, Lucy spot a dark mysterious figure right in front of the building.

Who the hell could that be? Lucy thought, as she contemplated on continuing to go over to Fairy Hills. With a deep breath Lucy persuaded herself to continue on her task at hand and marched over to Fairy Hills. The dark figure steps in front of the celestial wizard and gives her a wicked like grin.

"Oh man, I knew should have turned back around," Lucy said with a slight whimper before she got clubbed over her head.

"Ow! Damn it, that hurt," Lucy grumbled as she began to wake up, holding her head, feeling a slight bump on the back.

As she fully opens her eyes she absorbs her surroundings and notice that she was trapped in what seemed to be a stone cell, the floor was cold, grimy and rugged, the walls practically identical. She panics and looks down at her body, praying that she wasn't stripped of her clothes like usual.

"Oh thank God." she said as she sees and touches every article of her clothing that are still on her body, best of all her key holder.

"Ok now, time to get out of here! Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" Lucy exclaims as she points her key to the stone bars, but her perverted man-cow was nowhere to be found. Lucy looks at her key and whines.

"Of course I can't use magic here!"

"Lucy?" a familiar voice said from across her cell, causing Lucy's pulse to escalate. She leans over to the bars, sticks her head out and sees her missing friend, doing the exact same thing. She looked worn and her hair shined from grease and sweat, practically sticking to her face.

"Erza! How did you get here? Have you've been here for long?" Lucy said, gripping the bars tighter and leaning closer towards the bars, her nose practically on the other side of the cell. The closer she was to Erza the safer she felt.

"I have been incarcerated for only a few days. Unfortunately, it is quite hard to escape when I have no use of my power."

"Don't worry Erza we'll get out of here someone is bound to notice both of us gone."

 ** _More like someone will notice you're gone dear Lucy..._**

A deep dark seductive like voice echoes throughout the cells. The voice was almost welcoming to Lucy, making her body move away from the bars and lean towards the echoed voice. Her skin covered in goose bumps.

"Do not pay attention to that voice Lucy, it's only trying to bring your thoughts into a negative place." Erza said

 ** _Now, now, Erza, you and I both know that all I speak is the truth..._**

"Erza, has this voice been talking to you a lot?" Lucy said as she spins around her cell trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. She really didn't like this voice, it was giving her some bad guy vibes that could not be shaken. Lucy knew that they needed to get out of there and quick or else things will take a turn for the worse,"We need to get out of here, Erza! Erza?!"

"Yes, I hear you. We must find a way to get out of here. But how?"

 ** _Don't you fret girls. Help will come very soon..._**

 _Luuuuuucccy!_ Natsu's roar echoed above the stone cells.

The ground began to shake right below the blonde's feet and she can hear it's happening to her fellow guild mate as well. She looks over towards the bars and makes eye contact with her scarlet haired friend and within that moment they both fall through the ground.

"Luuuuuuuuccccy! Where are you?" Natsu screams as he and Happy flies over a forest trying to find his missing friend.

His dragon sense of smell directed him over to beyond the Magnolia limits, causing Natsu's concern to grow. It was hard not to notice his friend was gone when he waited at her house for several hours to walk with her to the guild hall, especially since for the past week Lucy had been constantly nagging him to apologize to Erza. Yes, knowing that he hadn't seen or heard from Erza for a few days bugged him and had given him a real sense of uneasiness, but he was still brooding over the fact that Erza would accuse him of not putting either her or any of his friends first besides Lucy. He would do anything for them, but he had to admit that what he said to Erza was also not the right thing to say. Sure, she' scary and mean, but that's the best thing about her, that's what makes Erza so strong and powerful. It's the main reason as to why he looks up and admires her.

But now was not the time to think about his past mistakes at the moment, Natsu had to find Lucy and fast. Maybe after when he finds her, he could get her to help him apologize to Erza and they could all go back to same old, same old.

"Natsu do you smell her?" Happy said, bringing the fire dragon slayer back to the task at hand.

He sniffs the air and detected a slight twinge of Lucy's lilac and jasmine shampoo, he could recognize that smell easily because he has used it as body wash from time to time. He chuckles at the thought, Lucy never understood how she would run out of her shampoo so quickly.

"Down there!" Natsu said as he looked down to see a tall cliff looming above the trees of the forest.

"Aye sir!" Happy said as he swoops down to land Natsu safely to the top of the cliff.

The moment Natsu's sandals touched the ground , Lucy's shampoo's scent practically punches him in the face, but there was another scent in the air that seemed familiar to him that was masked with a different kind of scent, confusing me immensely.

"What the hell is going on here?" he said to himself as he started to look around the cliff.

 ** _Congratulations Natsu, you made it just in time..._** a dark voice enters his mind unexpectedly.

"Whose there!"

 ** _I'm no one important my dear dragon slayer, but I am the one who has someone who's important to you..._**

The cliff starts to rumble, both Natsu and Happy fall from the lack of anticipation and almost instantly Natsu's stomach begins to churn. He puts a hand over his mouth as he tries to focus on what was happening right in front of him. Two holes were opening up on practically the edges of the cliff, one hole on each side of the cliff, distances apart from each other, but close enough for Natsu to have direct vision of them. He closes his eyes in hopes of the cliff stopping, he's ready to blow chunks.

"Natsu!" Two voices yelled out as the cliff stopped rumbling.

Natsu's nausea vanishes, he opens his eyes and the nausea comes back for a whole different reason. In front of him was both Lucy and Erza magically tied up on a vertical giant metal table, their hands over their heads and their feet tied the bottom of the table, all wired up to the table. Both looking quite scared.

"What did you do to my friends?" Natsu said as he takes a step closer to them.

All of a sudden, Lucy and Erza scream in pain as the tables electrocute them. Natsu stops his tracks.

 _ **Not so fast dragon slayer, first you need to play a little game with me...**_

Natsu grinds his teeth, "I'm not here to play any games with you I'm here to bring my friends home!"

 _ **Oh and you will I promise, only you play this game with me...**_

"Natsu I think you should just do what he says or else he'll turn Lucy and Erza into practically fried fish!" Happy said as he clutches on to Natsu's baggy pants.

"Ok fine! What's the game?"

The dark voice hums out a spine chilling chuckle in Natsu's mind.

 ** _The game is simple, I have two of your friends hostage, the only problem is, one is here in front of you and the other is safe from harm in a cell somewhere close from here. So as you can see you see both of your friends stand before you, but one of them is a projection of mine. I am going to push them both off the edge of the cliff at the same time and all you have to do is save the friend who is really here..._**

"And what if I chose wrong?" Natsu did not like this idea at all, just thinking about the situation was actually giving him almost a cold sweat. He could not tell just by his nose which one was the real Lucy or Erza, their scent were too close to each other and from where he was standing they both looked real to him.

 ** _Your friend who is in the cell will be free and your friend who is front of you will also be free from the magical ropes and is able to get off of the table, but that will mostly be because she smashed on the ground very hard..._**

He really didn't like this game. How is he gonna find out?

"Natsu!" Erza yelled, "Listen to me! Lucy is the safe in a cell somewhere! I need you to trust me on this and save me!"

"No! Natsu, please don't listen to her!" Lucy yelled, "She's just trying to trick you! I'm the real Lucy I swear!"

 _ **Tick Toc Natsu your time is almost up...**_

"Natsu! I'm the real Lucy! You just have to believe me please!" Her voice sounded scared and fragile.

"She's the projection Natsu! I'm the real Erza! I'm begging you Natsu!"

The two girls get electrocuted one more time and Natsu winces at the sound of their pained shrills.

 ** _Times up Natsu..._**

The two girls fell backwards over the cliff and without a single thought Natsu ran.

"Lucy!" He screamed as he runs over to his friend, jumping over the cliff in pursuit.

He lands on the table and instantly starts to tear the table up as he hears Lucy's voice filled with joy saying, "You came for me!"

In a few second Natsu got Lucy out of the table and into his arms, both smiling at each other.

The dark voice begins to laugh inside Natsu's mind loud and proudly.

 ** _You chose wrong..._**


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy vanishes into nothing and Natsu's mind goes blank. He was wrong, so that meant-

Panic overcomes every other emotion in Natsu's body.

"Happy!" He yells and within seconds his little buddy flies in and latches on to his back, "We need to get Erza and fast!"

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaims as he speeds over to the other side of the cliff as fast as he can.

As the pair flies around the cliff, Natsu catches sight of his friend still falling, struggling to get out of the terrible table, knowing that within seconds she would crash down to the ground.

"Faster Happy!"

The exceed uses all the magic he can muster up allowing Natsu to get to his target. Erza finally breaks through the ropes and glides out of the table, but the pull of gravity continues to do its jobs right. Natsu and Happy hover over her, but she's already too close to the ground.

 _ **You can't save her...**_

"Erza!" Natsu screams to get her attention, reaching out his hand, but it was too late for the fire dragon slayer.

 ** _You already had your chance..._**

"Erza!" Natsu screams again as he witnesses her inches away from his grasp and plummeting into the ground indenting a prominent sized creator, while that image of Erza falling made an indent of its own in Natsu's mind.

He and Happy land in the creator and Natsu immediately wraps his arms around the unconscious, S class wizard, shaking in frustration and guilt. She was right. He chose Lucy before her in a time of need and this is the outcome. The truth hurt.

"Natsu!" Lucy yells from a far as she runs over to her two teammates, "Come on we need to take her to Porlyusica!"

Natsu looks up to see his blonde friend and sees her unharmed. Not even a scratch. The voice kept its promise. Lucy had been set free. She really was in a safe place. Natsu picks Erza up from the ground, her body goes limp, mouth slightly opened. Erza was harmed. She was covered with scratches and bruises. Lucy places her hand on his shoulder for some type of comfort.

"If you want, I think my magic is back so I can summon Loke or Capricorn to carry her over to Porlyusica."

"No, I'll to carry her over. Let's go."

With that the two wizards and the exceed race over to Porlyusica's tree house. The journey to the tree house was nothing but a blur for Natsu, Happy and Lucy, but the moment they were outside of the tree house waiting for the pink hair medic to tell them Erza's condition, it long and slow and painful. News broke out to Fairy Tail, about what had happened, and within a hour the rest of team Natsu was at their sides waiting.

The door slowly opens and Porlyusica exits out of her home. All four members rush over to her.

"Is she going to be alright?" Gray said

"She is fine, she just needs to rest. Although, it seems as if she was undergoing a serious amount of stress. Too much for her to be honest, it's going to take a huge toll on her body." Porlyusica said

"It must have been because of the fall, right?" Wendy said

Porlyusica shakes her head, "No, unfortunately that is not the case here. It seems like she suffered through a more mental stress, do any of you know how that would have caused it?"

This question forced Natsu to remember the moment on the cliff, Erza begging for him to save her. That must have put a lot of stress on her, the stress that he was not going to pick her. He looks down on the ground. Too ashamed to tell her that it was all his fault.

"There was that voice!" Lucy chimes in

"Voice? What voice?" Porlyusica said

"When we were together there was a voice that talked to us for a bit. Erza told me to ignore it, that it was trying to put my thoughts in a negative place. She told me that she had been locked up for a few days that voice must have talked to her constantly then."

"What would the voice say?" Wendy said

"I don't know, it didn't really say anything that caught my attention. Maybe we can ask Erza when she wakes up." Lucy said as she looks at Porlyusica

"As I said before she was under a severe amount of stress, she is both mentally and physically exhausted. She will be resting for a few days so I suggest you come back by the end of the week. I don't want you crowding me, so shoo."

As everyone began to head back home, they all knew that a certain pink haired guild member was not following them. He stays behind, looking at the tree house contemplating if he should stay until his friend woke up, he didn't care if he's stayed for an entire week. All he wanted was to be the first to see her when she woke up. To apologize and to make it up to her, or else this was never going to go away. This problem.

"Natsu, are you coming home?" Happy said tugging at his pants

"Sorry buddy, but I think that I'm gonna stay here."

Days passed by and Natsu continued to wait, there every once in a while a friend or two would come over to check up on her, but didn't stay for a long time. It wasn't until Gray pulled him up from the ground and forced him to go home.

"Come on man, you need to take a shower. She'll wake up when she'll wake up. I'll stay here in your place and if she wakes up then I'll get Happy to relay you the message alright?"

Natsu didn't want to leave, but he knew that Gray has a point. He needed to rest, take a shower, maybe eat a bit. Erza would probably be mad that he didn't take care of himself, because of her. Reluctantly, he agreed to Gray's suggestion and walked off to his house. Within a few hours after he entered into his home, Happy comes rushing over telling him that Erza awoke and that she and Gray were already on her way to the guild hall.

"Damn it! I knew I should have stayed!" Natsu yells at he almost sets his roof on fire.

But as he was about to put his foot out the door, he freezes.

 ** _What makes you think that she wants to see you?_**

This voice was different to Natsu, for him it felt more warm and welcoming, for him it felt like it was just his guilty conscious talking to him. He shakes his thoughts and runs out the door, he needed to see her. He needed to talk to her. He needed to know that everything was going to be alright between them. He needed to prove that voice wrong.

"Hey wait for me!" Happy cries as he tries to catch up to his foster father.

Natsu kicks the guild hall doors open and instantly spots Erza Scarlet, covered in white bandages, sitting at the bar, in the middle of eating a piece of strawberry cheesecake. Mirajane was in front of her with her usual comforting smile, talking to her about something as Gray, Lucy and Wendy were sitting around her. Gray was the first one to look up at the doors and sees Natsu. He leans in a whispers something to Erza. Erza nods and starts to get up. This action causes Natsu to stay in place, was she trying to avoid him? Did she not want to talk to him?

 _ **You hurt her...**_

He tries to ignore the voice. He sees Erza with an arm around Gray, using him as a crutch and Natsu thought that it should have been him. If he didn't leave, he would have been with her right now. He decides to meet them half way. The moment he reaches a foot away from her, he stops and stares. Erza's face looked as if her energy was drained from her, she looked tired.

"Erza, I'm so sorry." He said, trying to figure out what else he could say to her. He knew that just saying sorry wasn't enough, he wanted to do something else to prove it to her, but she gives him a faint smile.

"It is alright Natsu. I do not blame you for your decision. I should have already known it was going to happen."

There it was, there was the sentence that gave Natsu all he needed to know. Things were going to be different between them and he doesn't like it.

"Erza, please let me at least help you." He said as he reaches towards her, yearning for a certain touch for comfort. For hope.

She slightly coils back.

" Please do not worry about me. I'm just need some time to rest and Gray is already here to help. You don't need to do anything Natsu." She said as both she and Gray walk around their team leader and head towards the doors.

Natsu keeps his eyes on his scarlet haired friend, with a panging feeling in his chest.

 ** _Looks like you lost her..._**

It has been a few days since Erza fully healed and yet she and Natsu haven't had a single conversation with each other. She had been avoiding him, it was obvious and it's been killing Natsu more and more. At the moment, he sits with Lucy, Happy, Carla and Wendy trying to figure out what their next job will be. As Lucy was talking about how close her rent was coming up, Natsu spots Erza walking over to Mirajane handing her a piece of paper. He frowns at the sight.

 _ **Looks like she wants to go on a solo mission today...**_

He gets up from the table and walks over to the bar, the moment Erza exits the guild, an action that did not go unnoticed by the people at his table. They watch him talk to the beautiful bar maiden for a few seconds. Nothing seemed to be in the unusual to them, but they knew he went up there for a reason. Natsu finishes his talk with the older Strauss and calls up Happy. They too decided to go on a solo mission today and walks out the door.

Lucy and Wendy with Carla in tow, walk over to Mirajane to figure out what was happening.

"Hey Mira, what was that all about?" Lucy said

"Hmm? Oh! You're talking about with Natsu!" She smiles brightly, "Well when Lisanna disappeared after that S class mission, Natsu got a bit protective and worried about the rest of his friends who went on S class missions. Since I decided to retire, Erza was really the only one who he cared about going on the missions. So he would ask me where her missions were and he would take a mission closest to hers or the same place, just in case. Then time went by and he realized that she could take care of herself, so he and I would calculate how long her missions would take for her to come back.

"So if she didn't return by the calculated time she would have gone and find her?" Wendy said

"That's right!"

"And what it looks like is that he's going back to that routine. Does he think that Erza's not going to be with us anymore?" Lucy said as she tries to put things together.

"I don't blame her, " Carla said, "What has happened to her has practically broken her trust with Natsu."

"Carla!" Wendy warns

"I'm sorry child, but I am only stating the facts. As of right now Natsu is not a dependable to Erza."

"If only I wasn't there. We could have avoid all this, " Lucy said as she sits down at the bar and lays her head on the bar table.

"Oh, don't put this on yourself. Whoever did this has been planning this very carefully. He chose both you and Erza for a reason." Mirajane said

"yes, I conqure. Whoever this person is, knew that the key component for Natsu to lose in that situation was you. If this person wanted either Mirajane or Elfman to lose then the person for them would be Lisanna. It would not matter who else was the other victim if Lisanna was there they will always chose her," Carla explains to both Lucy and Wendy.

"Everyone has that one person Lucy and out of all people Erza's the one who would understand that the most." Mirajane said

"What is that?" Wendy asks

Mirajane gives her a small smile, "Because believe it or not Natsu is her person."


	4. Chapter 4

Erza had to get out of the guild and fast. She needed a distraction and a long one at that. Which was why she took it upon herself to take an S-Class mission that would take her a week or so to accomplish. It hurt her to see Natsu with Lucy, which in turn would cause her to get frustrated with herself. She knew that he was going to pick Lucy and yet her trust in him still strained. Seeing him, on instinct, choosing Lucy's life over her own just killed her. The worst part of it all was that stupid voice in her head. From time to time it would reappear in her mind, repeating what it had told her when she was locked up for those few days.

 _ **I only speak the truth my dear Erza...**_

She shook her head in frustration. She needed to get that voice out of her mind. Before she could continue on to her mission, she had to do a personal mission of her own first. In a city a few hours away from Magnolia, resides a little bar joint called The Fallen Star, where four very talented wizards worked. Wizards that Erza has been trying to get to join Fairy Tail for a few years now. This time she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

As she entered The Fallen Star she catches at the end of a song performed by a beautiful tall blonde, dressed in a short, skin tight sequenced blue strapless dress with black ankle boots. Her hair was pulled back in a ballerina bun with some loose strands of hair framing her face. In Erza's opinion this woman was one of the most beautiful women she had ever met, her face was fit for a princess, slender, graceful and radiant. And yet, her olive complexion was covered with some scars, one that was very prominent was a large faded scar on the back of her neck. As the singer finished her song, her hazel eyes connected with Erza's brown ones. She smiled, waved then walked off the stage.

"Erza Scarlet, what a pleasant surprise!" the woman said as she hugged her tightly.

"Hello Adeline, it is very nice to see you again." Erza said as she returned the action.

Adeline showed her over to a table and ordered two waters.

"I do not see your cousin or the others around. Are they in the back?" Erza said as she looks around the bar for her other friends.

"Jericho is out on the streets getting some money, while Odette and Cedric are out shopping."

"Cedric shopping? How did Odette convince him to do that?" Erza said with a chuckle.

The waitress hands them both a glass of water.

Adeline smiled brightly at the question, "Maybe it's because they're shopping for their wedding day."

Erza shoots out of her chair, causing the table to flip and the water to spill all over the floor.

"They are getting married?" Erza shouted in joy.

Adeline laughs and nods vigorously. Erza was extremely happy for her two friends, they deserved each other.

"Yes, the only problem is that we don't have enough money to host a great wedding. I mean Joe is a great guy to let us work at his bar, but the pay still isn't enough to be financially secure." Adeline said as she puts the table back up, "That's one of the reasons as to why Jericho is out on the streets right now."

"Well all of you could always join us in Fairy Tail. The missions will give all of you a good pay. Especially, if you do not cause any collateral damage." Erza said as she helps Adeline with the table.

They sit back down.

"And we now enter into our never ending cycle. Erza as I've said before and will continue to tell you, we are very grateful for your offer, but we don't want to dive into the field of wizardry again. "

"Times have changed Adeline. I do believe that you and everyone else will not regret joining us."

This startles Adeline. Erza was never one to push someone to join Fairy Tail, especially not to her. Yes, every visit she has made, she would offer her and her friends a place in Fairy Tail, but she usually would drop it the moment Adeline would decline. Something was wrong. She stares into Erza's eyes, analyzing them and can see a slight falter.

"Erza, what's wrong?" She asked

Erza shakes her head, "No, there is nothing wrong Adeline," she now has her sight on the floor.

"You are having doubts, " Adeline said very quietly.

Erza doesn't respond. She hears a heavy sigh.

"Ok. I will talk to everyone to see if they would like to join Fairy Tail."

Erza looks up at her friend and sees sympathy in her eyes. It made her feel slightly relived and hurt at the same time.

"Thank you." She said.

A week. One whole week has passed and on a mission that should have finished five days max. Natsu was going nuts.

"Where is she? Where could she be?" Natsu would mutter to himself as he walks around in circles. Natsu and Happy had taken a mission close to Erza's own, but he wasn't able to see the Scarlet wizard at all. This of course, worried him more.

Mirajane had tried to calm him down by telling him that a few days was nothing to panic about. As for the rest of team Natsu they just sat there watching their pink haired friend stress out. Lucy didn't have the chance to talk to Erza before she left on her mission so she wasn't able to ask her anything about that strange voice. Luckily, Gray was the only one of their group who has been with Erza through the time of her healing. He tried to talk to her about what had happened, but Erza reassured him that everything was fine and that was all he could really hope for.

The doors open widely with a bang and in comes Erza with four other people behind her. What Erza did not expect was everyone's reaction to the people behind her. The entire guild practically swarms around the group in a frenzy. Erza takes that as an opportunity to go over to Mirajane and Lisanna.

"Why, it looks like you brought some very famous people here Erza." Mirajane said with a giggle.

"Yes, they were actually the reason as to why I returned later than I had anticipated. They are here to join Fairy Tail."

"What?!" The entire guild screamed with a new found sense of glee.

Lucy walks up to the Strauss sisters and Erza, with Wendy and Carla in tow.

"Erza, do you know who these people are?" She said as she stares at the poor group of members being rampaged by her guild, her sight focuses more on the beautiful singer Adeline.

"Yes. Why would I not know who they are if I was the one who invited them?" Erza replied, not understanding the question.

"Oh my gosh! How long have you known the best female dancer in all Fiore? And why haven't you told us?" Wendy said jumping up and down.

"Oh geez, I didn't know people thought of me like that. That's so flattering." A woman said as she struts into the conversation. Wendy gasps with both hands over her mouth.

Odette Atlas: a beautiful woman with long lilac colored hair fully braided to the side and bright jade eyes. At that moment the beautiful dancer wore a white skater skirt with a tight black tank top under a white vest, with white ballet flats. The fact that people considered her one of the greatest dancers, is not an understatement. Anyone could tell just by the look of her how athletic and strong Odette was. Her body was petite, but lean and with every movement she made one could see how defined her muscles really were. What many do not know is that she is in fact Adeline's cousin, but once it is mentioned, they can't help but notice the similarities between the two, especially in their faces. Their cheeks, their noses and most importantly their smiles.

"Oh but it's true! Carla and I have seen you dance before, when we were on our way to a mission. You were dancing with someone else at that time and it was so beautiful I almost cried!" Wendy said remembering the nice moment.

Odette smiles at the young dragon slayer.

"Tell ya what, how about I do a little dance lesson for you whenever you like cool?"

"Oh wow! Really?" Wendy exclaims in pure joy and all the dancer did was smile brightly.

Not to long after Cana pushes Odette to the side while dragging one of the new guys by the arm. The man she was dragging, was quite the handsome fellow. Tall, notably muscular, especially in the arms. His face was square with a defined jaw line. He had long shaggy reddish hair that is covered with a baseball cap backwards causing his bangs to go through the hat. He wore khaki brown shorts with a maroon muscle shirt with athletic shoes.

"Screw the dancer!" Cana slurs, "This beautiful man right here is the greatest bartender in all of Fiore!"

"Hi, the name is Cedric, " the man said as he scratches the back of his head nervously with his free hand.

Cana places a finger on his lips.

"Shh, don't speak. Go make me a drink."

Erza places her hands on her hip in annoyance.

"Cana, be respectful for our newest member please."

"Oh no, it's chill! I'm totally fine with making some drinks. Just show me where the bar is." Cedric said excitedly.

Mirajane smiles sweetly at the bartender, "Oh well, here then, let me show you."

Cana follows them and Erza sighs.

"Odette, how are you alright with seeing an attractive woman act like that towards your fiancé?"

"Woah! You guys are getting married?" Lucy exclaimed

Odette places her hand on her cheek as a dash of red sweeps across her face. The ring on her finger flashes radiantly. She was very happy at the thought of her fiancé.

"Oh no, don't let her start talking about her love for Cedric. It will just drag on and on and I am not physically prepared to be sick to my stomach," another young man enters into the conversation.

This young man wore a bright big and cheerful smile. His skin tone a bit darker than the rest of the newcomers. He wore black pants and a bright red t-shirt along with a black leather jacket and biker boots. He did not look as muscular as Cedric, but he did look fit. His face was more thin and narrow, by the way his brown hair framed his face in an unkempt manner and his eyes were big and brown. His entire face gives off the embodiment of the word joyful. Adeline steps by the man's side and playfully shoves him.

"Don't listen to Jericho," she said as she laughs, " he just loves to bully Odette."

"What kind of magic do you guys do, if you don't mind me asking, " Gray said.

Jericho does a double take on the ice maker.

"Dude, weren't you just wearing pants?"

The gang laughs. "But, if you would like to know. I wouldn't mind facing you off one of these days. I heard you're one of the strongest mages in the guild." Jericho said as he offers his hand to Gray.

The ice mage smirks at the new comer and takes his hand, "I'd be up for that. Welcome to Fairy Tail, you guys will fit in just fine."

"Thanks man! And just to let you know, I am a tarot card reader, so if you need me to look for anything I'm your man." Jericho said with a smile.

"Juvia would like to know her future!" Juiva said as she instantly pops in between to two men, "Will my beloved Gray be mine in the nearest future?"

"Don't be asking those questions in front of me!" Gray yells, causing the gang around them to laugh.

"Well, I don't know about you guys specifically but I did have a reading for myself saying that I was going to meet a pair of lovers," Jericho said in a jeering way.

This causes Gray's face to grow red and Juvia to burst in happiness. The gang laughs harder. It was then that Natsu and Happy come over to the group out of curiosity for the new people. Lucy was the first to spot the dragon slayer and grabs on to his sleeve pulling him in front of Adeline.

"Natsu, do you remember her? We stopped by at her bar to get something to drink and she was singing on stage so beautifully!" Lucy exclaimed

Natsu leaned close to her and studied her face for a moment or two. His eyes widen.

"Oh yeah! You're adding a circle, right?"

Lucy smacked him up side his head.

"Her name is Ad-e-line!" She yelled

Everyone around them laughed, they even earned a slight chuckle form Erza.

"Erza told me that you two are really close, but I must say I feel as if that is an understatement," Adeline said as she glances at her friend.

Everyone fell silent at her words. Both Natsu and Lucy looked away from each other, even giving themselves some distance from each other. Adeline began to analyze and connect the dots. Slowly, but surely, she started to understand what happened to her friend. She then catches something she believed to be important. Natsu giving a quick glance at Erza, looking for a reaction. Her face was of stone at the moment.

"So!" Lucy said, trying to distract her friends from the subject, "How do you guys know Erza?"

"Oh well, you see we actually met Erza when we were about 14 or so," Odette jumps in instantly.

"Yes, I was off on a mission, when I decided to take a break In the middle of the forest. It was then that I met Adeline. Both she and I were not in the best terms with each other at that moment." Erza adds on

"I was not in the best of moods when I ran into Erza and so we basically got into a fight. In the end, we ended the fight with a tie and Erza offered me and the rest of us to join Fairy Tail." Adeline said

"But wait, if Erza offered you guys to join Fairy Tail, why didn't you guys join at that time?" Wendy said.

She started to imagine what things would have been like if these four were in the guild before she ever entered in the picture. If Adeline ended up in a tie with Erza, then maybe Adeline might have been in the team that were going to defeat the Oracion Seis. Would it have ended faster? Easier? Then again, she has no clue what kind of magic the singer possessed. How strong is she really?

"Why yes, Wendy does have a point. Why are you just entering the guild after a good ten year after the offer?" Carla said

"Well to answer your question Wendy, we were trying to make a life for ourselves without having us depend on our magic and joining Fairy Tail would have been doing just the opposite." Adeline said

"Plus, we just started to make ourselves a bit known in the Fallen Star. We didn't really have a need to leave." Jericho said, placing a hand on Adeline's shoulder.

"So then, I ask again. Why now?" Carla repeats herself.

Everyone stood still for a second. Both Odette and Jericho looked at Adeline for the answer. Adeline gives Carla a closed smile and walked over to Erza. She looks at her straight in the eyes. For a split second, it seemed as if Erza was afraid at what her friend was going to respond.

"Erza would visit us as much as she could, and when she did she would always offer it to us. But this time I saw something different in Erza's eyes that couldn't allow me to decline this time."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been about a month or so since Adeline and her friends entered into Fairy Tail. They became very successful in their missions with minimal collateral damage. They all live in a nice house a little ways out of Magnolia, where Erza tends to spend most of her time now. Natsu was not liking it. He felt like because Erza spent most of her time with the new comers, it didn't help them to repair their friendship. He had tried to speak with her, but in some way or another either Odette or Adeline, found something to steer Erza away from him. It hurt. It hurt, to know that deep down, she was probably the one who told them to do so.

At the moment, everyone was gathered around in the guild, trying to figure out what to do for the day. Erza was at the bar with Mirajane along with Cedric. As for Jericho, he sat at a table with Cana comparing cards. There at a table next to them were Gray, Juvia, Adeline and Odette having a pleasant conversation. As for Natsu, he, Happy, Lucy, Wendy and Carla were at the far end of the guild eating Mirajane's fine cooking.

"Why don't we go to a beach or something? I haven't gone swimming in a while," Wendy said as she finishes her plate.

"Yes, that sounds quite lovely at this moment, but I believe that would take a few days of preparation to do so child."

"Not gonna lie though, that does sound like an amazing idea," Lucy said as she takes a sip of her drink.

As she drank, she noticed that Natsu had grown more silent than usual. It worried her. She wanted to speak to Erza and explain to her how much Natsu missed her. It was obvious, but both Erza and Natsu are too stubborn to do anything about it. Just thinking about the situation caused her head to pulse, in stress. She bore a strong sense of guilt in her heart. After what she heard from Mirajane, she started to think about Erza's and Natsu's feelings for one another. It confused her. She couldn't tell if their feelings were of sibling, friendship or of something more. She is even positive that neither of them know as well. So what could she do to help? She looks at her pink haired friend and sees him staring at the S class wizard. What could he be thinking? What could he be feeling right now?

"Natsu?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you talk to her?"

"I've tried. She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Then why don't we try a different approach?" Lucy said with a smile

Lucy gets up from the table and starts to walk over to Jericho. She sits across from him and he looks at the celestial wizard with interest.

"I'd like for us to have a friendly match my team versus yours," Lucy said, causing the guild to settle down.

Jericho smiles widely with mischief, "Why the sudden challenge?"

"Well you said so yourself that you would rather have a match to demonstrate your magic and I must say I'm quite interested in what you and your friends can do. I think it would be very entertaining as well."

Jericho's eyes darts over to Adeline, who is looking at Odette. As for Cedric, he slowly started to leave the bar. A screech from a wooden chair backing out fills their ears. Gray is out of his chair, without a shirt, looking at Jericho with determination. Truth be told he had been waiting for this moment since the day he met him. He could sense that Jericho and his friends were strong mages and he wanted to test the waters himself.

"I say that is a great idea," Adeline said as she too got out of her chair, "I sense that we are all feeling a bit restless and a good fight will allow us to release some energy."

"Then it's settled," Gray said with a grin

"Alright, but with one condition, " Jericho said, "I get to battle Lucy."

Everyone gathered around in the back of the guild circled around both Lucy and Jericho. Natsu stood close to Gray and Juvia.

"What kind of magic do you think he has?" Natsu said

"I've trying to figure that out myself. There has to be a connection between Lucy and his magic for him to want to face against her." Gray replied

"You are very close with that theory," a voice responded from behind, causing Natsu to slightly jump.

"Erza.."

"The reason as to why he wanted to face against Lucy is because his magic is fairly similar to hers."

"How's his magic just like Lucy's?" Natsu said, taking advantage of the fact that she was speaking to him. He doesn't even look away from her. When will the next time she decides to speak to him?

"I would not like to spoil the surprise any more than I have now. I suggest that you to just watch the match."

"Hey Erza are you going to battle anyone of them for our team?" Gray said, "Cuz I would love to see you and Adeline duke it out."

Erza chuckles, "I prefer to stay out of this one. I would rather see exactly how you all will react to them."

"Are they really that strong?"

"Let's just say that if they entered Fairy Tail at the time when I first offered it to them, they should all be in S class by now."

This caused both Natsu and Gray look at Adeline and the rest of her team. Their skins began to crawl. What kind of magic do they posses? Natsu then looked at Lucy.

"I hope Lucy doesn't get hurt," he said under his breath

"Jericho wouldn't do anything to her," Erza answers back in the exact tone as the dragon slayer.

 _ **Keep showing her your concern for your girlfriend. That would get her to continue to talk to you...**_

"Erza, look-

"Natsu, there is nothing you need to tell me. Now pay attention, the match is about to start."

 _ **You blew your chances...**_

Lucy stands firmly on the ground, excited to face off Jericho. She hadn't felt this excited since the grand magic games, even more so, knowing that she is going up against a comrade.

"Alright! Get ready Jericho, I'm not one to be taken lightly! Open! Gate of the lion! Loke!"

The ground glows brightly as the handsome celestial spirit emerges . The celestial spirit poses elegantly as he anticipates the next step.

"You must be a fool for wanting to go up against me and my girl," Loke said with a smirk

Jericho stood still in awe. He had never seen a celestial spirit before, most importantly one of the 12 zodiac signs. If he were honest with himself he'd say that he was well beyond fascinated by the lion in front of him. He smiles broadly and lets out an excited laugh.

"Oh man! This is gonna be a great fight I can feel it!" He said as he takes out his tarot deck.

Jericho looks through his deck and pull out a gold card.

"Now, let me show you what I can do! From the realm of Tarot, I summon you High Priestess!" Jericho exclaims as his golden card begins to illuminate, the same way as Lucy's key, but instead of appearing from thin air, a shadow like hole appears from the ground in front of him and the magical servant arises from it.

The woman that appeared in front of both Lucy and Loke bore grayish blue skin with white images of crescent moons on the top of her hands, with white streamer like images around her arms. She wore a white gypsy like skirt and a matching bandeau top with a blue cross in the middle of it. Her hair was white and in a bun, along with a crescent moon, on its side, with a circle on top of the moon, as a tiara. The most striking thing about her were her lilac eyes with no pupils. Her face was slender, body petite. Who was she?

"How may I assist you, my lord." She said

Her voice was strong and yet had a hint of softness to it almost as if her voice was entrancing. Loke lets out a slow whistle.

"Woah! I've never seen this before, do you know anything about them Loke?" Lucy said

"I've heard of them, but they were more like a myth. I never thought that their realm existed. The tarot realm is practically the opposite of the celestial world. They don't have contracts between mages, they just come and go as they please. And most of them derive from a sort of dark like magic, which is why it is rare for them to appear in general."

"Wait so are you saying that Jericho here is basically using dark magic?"

She looks up at Jericho and she takes a slight step back in shock. His eyes changed colors one was an orange like gold as the other was a vibrant green. It almost sent a chill down her spine as she sensed his dark aura, if it wasn't for that big childish grin plastered on his face.

"There is a use of dark magic, but we try to use our magic at a minimum because of it." He said.

"Wait, did he say we?" Wendy asks out loud, causing everyone to take a glance at Jericho and his teammates.

"Is this true Erza?" Gray said

Natsu turns to look at Erza and sees her with a stern look. Arms crossed.

"Unfortunately yes, but it wasn't their choice to part take in such magic. In reality it was forced upon them, at a young age they were chosen to be guinea pigs for an experiment, exposing them to ounces of dark magic through certain places on their bodies."

"They wanted to see what would happen if one's heart was contaminated with dark magic. It took a much stronger effect on me, hence the eye alteration whenever I use my magic. Delphi here was the first card that appeared to me and promised me to be my loyal servant." Jericho said as he walked closer to the Tarot Spirit.

"What made her want to appear to you?" Lucy said as she tried not to stare at his multi colored eyes.

Delphi places her pale blue hand over her chest and said, "The moment the young Lord, connected himself with our dark magic, I saw a strong future for the lord and myself if I became his loyal servant."

"Now, I think we've done enough talking. Let's have some fun with this shall we? Delphi, Loke here is the Zodiac sign Leo, his attacks are light based. I trust that you know how to handle him?"

The servant puts herself in a defensive stance, with an arm out and palm facing out. Her eyes begins to shine. Loke on the other hand fixed his cufflinks and flashed a smile. This was going to be a fun fight.

"Ok Loke, give her all you got!" Lucy exclaims as Loke makes the first move.

His fist glows brightly as he winds up for his attack, but before he could move in Delphi dodges his attack swiftly. In Lucy's opinion, it looked as if they were practically dancing, spinning on the balls of their feet, pivoting away from one another. When one arm moves forward, the other's leg moves back. Everyone else soon began to think, the same thing, the two spirits were evenly matched.

"Delphi has a skill at reading her opponents moves, she is able to counter the second your friend here attacks." Jericho brags

"Well, let's see if she can read my actions along with Loke's!" Lucy exclaims as she begins to glow.

Within a few second Lucy adorns an outfit that solely matches her partner, with his symbol on her right breast.

"Interesting, she has an outfit for every Zodiac she has?" Adeline asks as she focuses more of her attention to the Celestial mage.

"Woah! That's an awesome trick! Yo Delphi, you think I could do that?" Jericho says

"I apologize, but I have not been able to predict that far into your future my lord." Delphi responded as she tries to dodge both of Lucy and Loke's attacks, "It would be quite useful if I were to have some assistance my lord."

Jericho smacks himself on the forehead, "Oh yeah huh? Alright! From the realm of Tarot, I summon you, Jester!"

In the same fashion as Delphi a young man rises from the ground. He was shirtless with a red heart over his left chest. He also wore multicolored harem pants and no shoes. His figure was well built and lean, his left shoulder had a black club and his right hand had a black spade. His face as quite boyish with a red diamond around his left eye, his right eye covered by the length of his black bangs, hair in disarray.

"Alright, Alright, Alright! The party has begun!" The jester howls loudly, while beating the left side of his chest.

The moment he lays his eyes on Lucy, he instantly appears right in front of her, noses grazing each other.

"Hello hot babe, please tell me I get to fight you today. I love it when things get physical." He says

Delphi reaches over to the jester and drags him over to her side, "Romulus, you are here for assistance, alone."

Taking advantage of the two distracted tarot spirits, Lucy and Loke glance at each other and powered their fists. Before Delphi and Romulus could phantom a thought, they were both hit causing them to skid across the ground.

"Way to go Luce!" Gray cheers, along with Natsu, Wendy and Happy. As the continued to cheer, Romulus lets out a loud wolf like howl. He jumps back up instantly with a big wide grin.

"Now, that's how a girl should punch! I'm gonna enjoy this! Delphi doll, stand back I got this!"

On instinct Loke gets in front of Lucy protectively.


End file.
